THE POLISH ROAD TO NATO VIEWED BY A POLE IN GERMANY (Polska droga do NATO. Okiem Polaka w Niemczech)

This article describes circumstances in which the Polish accession to NATO was prepared in the Federal Republic of Germany 1996-1999. It presents the attitude to NATO enlargement of German politicians and governing elites during the H. Kohl and G. Schröder governments and the connection between this attitude and Germany's political relations with Poland, France, Great Britain, the United States and Russia. The article also discusses the relationship between Poland's accession to NATO and its accession to the EU; the NATO and EU accession-related expectations of the Baltic States and Ukraine given the earlier accession to the Alliance of Poland the Czech Republic and Hungary; and the attitude of the FRG authorities to those expectations. This article also presents the growth of Polish-German military cooperation during this period as a process preparing Poland for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as well as the political information and promotional measures taken by Polish politicians and diplomats in Germany, from the angle of political and economic developments in that country and the evolution of the German and European defense and security policies. The article also addresses the psychological aspect of efforts to secure German support for Poland's desire to gain membership in the Alliance and conveys the atmosphere that accompanied those efforts in 1996-1999.